A Parting Salute
To Lt. Col. Leonard P. Lynch

When my father died I wrote this poem which I read at his funeral.
It serves still as an appropriate epitaph. It is posted here to
share with all who knew him or come to know of his life.

Epitaph To A Soldier
By Terry Lynch
December 28, 1973

Here lies a soldier
Who lived for his wife and children
Who lived for his loved ones
Who lived for all that is the essence
Of life, family, land
Here lies a soldier
And he is not gone from us
Not really, not truly
For he lives ever
In those of us closest
Who shared this soldier's
Life, love, land, dream
Here lies a soldier
He lived that we may live
Longer lives, more full lives,
Lives richer in joy, happiness, love
Here lies a soldier
Who never of his own wronged any
Who lived for peace, peace and love
Who strove for this in all his work
Which now remains our work
Carry on soldier
Carry on the struggle
Working for love, family, peace, freedom.
Endeavor to take not
Reaching for these sacred treasures.
Live rather for their fulfillment.
Through your heart shared
This light can be
Carry on soldier
Here lies your worthy leader
One who you can follow
And know that your conscience
Has not been misguided
Here lies a soldier
But he is not gone
Listen...
The wind...
The trees...
Our breath...
He lives in this, his land
And all of us
Here lies a soldier
Nothing more need be said.

Goodbye Dad! I Salute You!

My father was buried in a small cementer upon Fort Mc Clellan
where he once served as Transportation Officer. It was there
that he laid the ground work for later events which would move
and change many peoples lives. For in the early 1960's he was
involved in the training National Guard units from Alabama and
Mississippi. Many of these troops would later be federalized to
take part in such historic events as the Selma to Montgomery
Civil Rights march.
It is a fact that my father later was a primary participant in
the Selma to Montgomery march. As a logistics transportation officer
responsible for the planning and movement of thousands of troops,
having been previously involved in planning evacuation
contingency plans in Europe, his expertise would be used in to
provide the safe escort for thousands of marchers under the
protection of 4,000 National Guard troops.
It was not by chance that the Selma to Montgomery march occurred
without bloodshed. My father was a highly trained soldier who
commanded battalions and supervised in the design and planning of
operations designed to effect the safe and secure movement of
large masses of people in crisis situations. He was involved
from 1960 until his retirement in 1967 in training of National
Guard units. The units he supervised, commanded and trained were
the same units who provides a safe corridor and security for the
thousands of civil rights marchers on March 21-25, 1965. Had it not
been for my father's command, and the security provided by 4,000 troops,
the Selma to Montgomery march would likely have never happened or
would have incurred bloodshed and the loss of life.
After the events of "bloody Sunday" President Lyndon B. Johnson addressed
Congress and introduced the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on March 15, 1965. Within
a week federalized National Guard units would be assigned to protect and secure
civil rights marchers as they walked from Selma to Montgomery. This military
operation which was planned and executed by Lynch and 4,000 troops was
essentially used by President Johnson to effect the success of the Selma to
Montgomery march without bloodshed and to insure a political victory and the later
passage of the Voting Rights Act which Johnson signed into law on August 7, 1965.
Johnson was therefore able to achieve a great political victory and accomplish the
passage of the Voting Rights Act, something he had not been able to do with the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, which in its original draft had contained voting rights
provisions that Congress cut out.
We can do no greater honor then to remember those soldiers who
made sacrifice for their country. My father made such sacrifice
daily. He was away from his wife and children in both World War
II and the Korean War. Throughout the Cold War he daily served
his country to help insure peace and guarantee freedom not only
of Americans, but of people in Europe and Asia. Then during the
Vietnam War he had the hardship duty of telling wives and
families that their loved one had been killed in action. This
bore heavy upon his heart and was a factor in his early death.
My father died in December of 1973. He was sitting at the
kitchen table talking with his wife as he so often did. Several
months earlier he had had open heart surgery and he suffered from
high blood pressure. His heart just stopped. I gave him CPR and
called rescue units but they were not able to revive him. He
died quickly without pain or suffering.
We can do no greater honor then to remember a soldier and a
father who sacrificed so much for God and country, for duty and
honor, for the love of family and freedom. I love you Dad! May
you rest in peace!

Terry Lynch
28 April, l998

Credits

These records were compiled from official U.S. Army Service records, commendations, awards, certificates and other original documents in Lynch Family Archives.